Data and Decision Analytics (Online Learning) MSc

Scheduling your studies

You will need to set aside approximately 15 hours per week for reading, viewing lectures, tutorials and assignments. This is an average across the duration of the entire two years, and it will vary depending on the course and also when assignments are due. Therefore, at peak times, you may need to put aside more time for your studies.

Live sessions

These sessions will be scheduled to take place between 09:00 and 18:00 GMT.

We are currently planning for live sessions to take place on Mondays and Tuesdays only. There will be a maximum of 4 hours required during these two days of the week for participating in the live online sessions.

Depending on your location, this may mean attending before or after your usual day of work. We appreciate though for some it may mean requesting flexible working from your employers to attend these. Equally, if you are not able to attend some of these sessions, there will be recordings made available so you can catch up afterwards.

Format

The courses will consist of live sessions that will be made up of a mixture of:

• lectures
• tutorials
• computer lab sessions.

Lectures will introduce the theoretical foundation of the given subjects, while tutorials and computer labs will give you hands-on experience and allow you to practice the concepts covered by the lectures.

The programme's materials (access to videos, slides, briefings and so on) and overall resources will be available on the online platform called Learn. Recordings of all online lectures, tutorials and computer lab sessions will be made available giving you a certain level of flexibility to study around other commitments as we appreciate that you may not be able to attend all the live sessions. Each individual course has its own Learn page. Assessment will consist of coursework. Students will submit their projects, essays and so on through Learn and Turnitin. Feedback will also be provided through the same system.

• About Learn

Students will also interact and engage with each other through discussion forums, group projects and other online tools.

The online Data and Decision Analytics MSc is delivered part-time with a start date in September each year. The programme takes 24 months to complete and combines academic study with practical application.

Please note that live sessions will be scheduled to take place on Mondays and Tuesdays during term time (c. 20 weeks each year). These live sessions will be a maximum of 4 hours per week and scheduled 9am-6pm GMT.

The programme encompasses a number of core courses and your studies will culminate with a dissertation.

Compulsory courses

• Applied Decision Optimisation
• Applied Machine Learning
• Data Analysis and Statistics for Business
• Python Programming
• Storytelling in Data and Decision Analytics

Option courses

• Time Series Forecasting
• Data Management
• Online Learning and Decision Making
• Heuristic Optimisation
• Introduction to Stochastic Optimisation
• Advanced Stochastic Optimisation

Option courses are subject to change and demand. We cannot guarantee that all option courses will run each year and occasionally there will be last-minute amendments after this date due to unforeseen circumstances such as staff illness.

The content of individual courses and the programme for any given degree are under constant academic review in light of current circumstances and may change from time to time, with some programmes and courses being modified, discontinued, or replaced.

Dissertation

• Dissertation in Data and Decision Analytics

The dissertation is an in-depth study of a topic in which you are particularly interested in within the field of Data and Decision Analytics. Undertaking the dissertation requires you to develop a deep level of analysis and understanding of the theory and processes of organisations and the business environment through the completion of a piece of individual research.

Find out more about compulsory and optional courses

We link to the latest information available. Please note that this may be for a previous academic year and should be considered indicative.

By the end of the programme, you will be able to:

• understand and critically apply the concepts and methods of business analytics
• identify, model and solve decision problems in different settings
• interpret results/solutions and identify appropriate courses of action for a given managerial situation, whether a problem or an opportunity
• create viable solutions to decision-making problems

MSc Data and Decision Analytics learning outcomes

Organisations hold more information about their business environments than ever before. Increasingly, these organisations are recognising the role of data in gaining insights and out-thinking competitors. The worldwide big data analytics market was valued at USD 37.34 billion in 2018 and is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of 12.3% to arrive at USD 105.08 billion by 2027. This will inevitably lead to further growth of the market for employees in the area of analytics.

The MSc in Data and Decision Analytics will offer you, from a range of degree backgrounds, the opportunity to equip yourself with an artillery of concepts, methods and applications of data analytics along with hands-on and practical experience in applying them. It is not just about being able to analyse and digest the data available, but to then translate this into effective decision-making.

We expect the programme to open a range of career pathways in analytics for our graduates or to allow them to progress further within their existing career. Roles we anticipate to be amongst these pathways include:

• business consultants
• business analysts
• data analysts
• business intelligence & analytics consultants
• metrics & analytics specialists
• analytics associates
• solution architects
• business process analysts
• management consulting associates
• operational research consultants

MSc Data and Decision Analytics career development

These entry requirements are for the 2025/26 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2026/27 academic year will be published on 10 July 2025.

Entrance to our MSc programmes is strongly competitive. You can increase your chances of a successful application by exceeding the minimum programme requirements.

• Important points to note when applying for this programme

A UK 2:1 honours degree or its international equivalent in an area related to management science, operational research, statistics, econometrics, mathematics, physics, computer science, engineering, or business and management with mathematical-related courses.

Your background should ideally include courses and/or experience gained in basic mathematics, such as standard concepts of calculus and linear algebra, probability, statistics, and/or computer programming.

If you have a UK 2:1 honours degree or its international equivalent in an unrelated subject we may consider your application if you have relevant work experience.

All students are recommended to have their own laptop for this programme.

Students from China

This degree is Band B.

• Postgraduate entry requirements for students from China

International qualifications

Check whether your international qualifications meet our general entry requirements:

• Entry requirements by country

English language requirements

Regardless of your nationality or country of residence, you must demonstrate a level of English language competency which will enable you to succeed in your studies.

English language tests

We accept the following English language qualifications at the grades specified:

• IELTS Academic: total 7.0 with at least 6.0 in each component. We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
• TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 100 with at least 20 in each component. We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
• C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 185 with at least 169 in each component.
• Trinity ISE: ISE III with passes in all four components.
• PTE Academic: total 73 with at least 59 in each component. We do not accept PTE Academic Online.
• Oxford ELLT: 8 overall with at least 6 in each component.

Your English language qualification must be no more than three and a half years old from the start date of the programme you are applying to study, unless you are using IELTS, TOEFL, Trinity ISE or PTE, in which case it must be no more than two years old.

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We also accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration:

• UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English speaking countries (non-MESC).

• Approved universities in non-MESC

If you are not a national of a majority English speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old at the beginning of your programme of study.

Find out more about our language requirements:

• English language requirements

Deposit

If you receive an offer of admission, either unconditional or conditional, you will be asked to pay a tuition fee deposit within 28 days to secure your place on the programme:

• £1,500 (this contributes towards your tuition fees)

The fee does not include the cost of textbooks for core and option courses so you should budget an additional amount for this required expenditure.

As this is an online programme, you will also require, and need to budget for, relevant IT equipment and broadband internet in order to pursue your studies.

See the programme website for more information on fees and deposits.

Tuition Fees

Funding for postgraduate study is different to undergraduate study, and many students need to combine funding sources to pay for their studies.

Most students use a combination of the following funding to pay their tuition fees and living costs:

• borrowing money
  • taking out a loan
  • family support
• personal savings
• income from work
• employer sponsorship
• scholarships

Explore sources of funding for postgraduate study

UK government postgraduate loans

If you live in the UK, you may be able to apply for a postgraduate loan from one of the UK’s government loan schemes.

The type and amount of financial support you are eligible for will depend on:

• your programme
• the duration of your studies
• your tuition fee status

Programmes studied on a part-time intermittent basis are not eligible.

• UK government and other external funding

Other funding opportunities

We offer a 10% discount on postgraduate tuition fees for alumni who have graduated with an undergraduate degree from the University of Edinburgh.

We also offer a 10% discount on postgraduate tuition fees for students who have previously matriculated on a "Visiting Programme" as an undergraduate student and completed a minimum of one semester of study at the University of Edinburgh.

The Scholarship and Student Funding site provides a list of programmes not covered by the discount scheme.

Search for scholarships and funding opportunities:

• Search for funding